Love Amongst The Madness
by Lollipop456
Summary: NoycexOC. When Katherine, a WWII nurse, is offered a position on Shutter Island, she has no idea what she is walking into. Let alone that one of the inmates will change her life forever, and perhaps together they can expose the cruelty and mystery surrounding two new doctors at the asylum.
1. Chapter 1

The air was filled with the scent of antiseptics and blood. There was another smell. Much fainter, but present. Death. The odor of bodies that had yet been sealed in bags. It took all of Katherine's strength to remain conscious and continue her work.

She had finished wrapping a bandage around a soldier's head, after it had been struck by shrapnel nearly a week ago.

"The wound is healing. How are you feeling?" Katherine asked.

"All right, I suppose." The soldier mumbled.

Katherine smiled and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Have you remembered anything yet?"

The soldier looked up at her, his brows knit together. "I think my name begins with an R."

Katherine sighed. The amnesia was not getting any better. There was nothing more she could do, and the soldier would soon be on a train back to America, along with the other soldiers that were on the road to recovery.

"That's very good, sir. Try and get some sleep." Katherine said, her tone reassuring.

As the soldier laid down to sleep. A bomb landed feet away from the tent, shaking the ground and knocking Katherine to the ground.

"Are you all right?"

Katherine looked up and saw Doctor Parson hovering over her. A middle-aged gentleman who was likely five pounds heavier than what he should be, with a blonde beard already beginning to gray.

"I'm fine, Doctor." Katherine said.

Doctor Parson helped Katherine to her feet as she wiped away at the dirt on her uniform.

"Head up, miss. You're a nurse, never a victim." Doctor Parson said.

"Yes, doctor."

Doctor Parson nodded and walked away to tend to a patient. He was not an unkind man, but his duty to his patients came before the welfare of others. Even himself. Katherine actually admired that about him.

After checking herself over and finding no breaks and injuries, outside of scraped knees; Katherine continued to make her rounds. When she came to the last patient; a lieutenant who had his leg amputated after an infection developed. He had been one of her easiest patients; a nice enough man who would play cards with the wounded and chat with the nurses. He had developed a fever with the infection, but Doctor Parson was sure that they had amputated the leg in time.

As she approached the lieutenant's bed, she recognized it immediately. The vacant eyes, the pale color of his skin, the stillness of the body. The lieutenant was dead.

_11 years later..._

Katherine was going to meet Marci for lunch. The two sisters hadn't spoken much since Katherine returned from Germany. They would see each other for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and maybe phone each other every few months. But the bond they had shared as children and into their youth had seemed like a thing of the past; as if it had died away with the part of the carefree and optimistic Katherine of 1942. They still loved each other, but the giggles and gossip between sisters was gone.

They agreed to eat at a small bistro across the street from Katherine's apartment. When Katherine arrived, she saw Marci already seated at a table. Her younger sister had the appearance of a sophisticated older woman; with impeccable clothing, a trim body, and a makeup job that would rival that of the finest stars of Hollywood. Katherine wasn't jealous though, only taken aback by her appearance. Marci was no longer an awkward teenager with stars in her eyes; she had grown up, and Katherine had missed it. She felt a twinge of guilt for having shut herself away for so long.

Marci stood when Katherine approached the table, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Neither one spoke until a waiter served them cups of coffee.

"I hope you don't mind my choosing this place. I've grown tired of all the noise in more of the finer restaurants." Marci said.

Katherine shrugged. "I don't mind. So, you dine out a lot?"

Marci took out her cigarette and lighter."Yes. I suppose it comes with dating a picture star."

Katherine's eyes widened. "A picture star? How?"

"Surely, I've told you? Oh, his name is Roger. I can't really tell you his last name; the poor man absolutely loves his privacy. We met at a wonderful party that Horace and I were attending."

All right, there was a name that Katherine recognized. She recalled Marci mentioning something about dating a reporter named Horace. Marci's love life was hard to track since she became a socialite.

"What happened? With Horace I mean."

Marci exhaled a puff of smoke. "I left him, of course. Oh, Horace was fun for laughs. Big ambitions, but the paper was bound to fire him after he took those sordid pictures. Roger can offer me love and his money just a bonus."

Katherine opened her mouth, then closed it quickly. She was sure that Marci didn't want her opinion on her behavior, so it was best to keep quiet and get to the bottom of the reason behind the spontaneous reunion.

"So did you want to tell me about Roger in person?" Katherine asked.

"Oh no, no, no. That could be done by telephone. It is what Roger can do for you that I had to see you about."

"What do you mean?"

Marci leaned forward and smiled. "It turns out that Roger's best friend is a prominent doctor. Well, the doctor knows another doctor who is in need of some nurses."

Katherine swallowed the lump in her throat. "A nursing position?"

"Yes! Oh, I know you've been in a slump since you've come home, but this job is the best way to get you back into the world of the living." Marci said.

Katherine wasn't sure what she'd been expecting to hear, but it certainly wasn't this. A wave of emotions flooded her; fear, excitement, happiness, skepticism, optimism.

When she spoke again, her throat felt dry. "What is the name of the doctor that's looking for nurses?"

Marci waved her hand in the air, shooing at an invisibly fly. "I can't remember all the details. His name is Sheehan, I think. Can't quite remember his specialty. He gave me his number."

Marci slid a single piece of paper across the table. Printed on it was a telephone number, and the words "Shutter Island" just above it.


	2. Chapter 2

When Katherine arrived back at her apartment building, she immediately went to use the telephone in the hall. It rang three times before the voice of a man came over the line.

"Hello, this is Doctor Cawley." The man said.

"Doctor, I'm calling about the nursing job." Katherine said.

There was a moment of silence, and Katherine was certain that Dr. Cawley had hanged up. It wasn't until she heard him clear his throat, that she let out a sigh of relief.

"What is your name, my dear?" Doctor Cawley asked.

"Katherine Wagner, sir."

"Well, Ms. Wagner, I am pleased that you called. Do you have any experience with nursing?"

"Yes, sir. I attended the nursing school at Columbia University in 1936. It wasn't long after I graduated that I was asked to serve as a nurse behind enemy lines in Germany."

Doctor Cawley sighed. "Oh, I'm sorry. What a terrible experience that must have been."

Terrible experience? That was a drastic understatement in Katherine's opinion. It was like living a nightmare with no way of waking up.

"If you don't mind, Doctor Cawley, I'd prefer not to speak about the war." Katherine said quietly.

"Of course, of course. Though I am interested as to how you learned about the position here."

Katherine began to twirl a lock of her hair. "My sister met an acquaintance of one of the doctors at your establishment. His name was Doctor Sheehan, and he said that you needed nurses."

"That we do. Shutter Island, you see, is a very difficult place to work. Several nurses have quit, frightened off by patients and some, when tending to our most violent, have been injured severely and have no choice but to leave."

Frightening patients? Injuries to staff? Katherine felt her heart drop into her stomach, already beginning to dread her potential workplace.

Katherine swallowed. "Doctor Cawley, just what is Shutter Island?"

"You don't know? Shutter Island is an asylum for the criminally insane."

Katherine gave a small gasp and dropped the telephone. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting when she heard about the offer. Perhaps a rural clinic in a small town, or a hospital for the disabled. Never, had she imagined that she would be offered to care for murderers, rapists, and thieves. All of whom were likely declared insane.

Collecting herself, Katherine quickly picked up the telephone with a shaky hand. "I'm sorry, Doctor."

"I didn't mean to shock you, Ms. Wagner. I was sure that you'd been told that Shutter Island was an asylum." Doctor Cawley apologized.

"No, I wasn't. Doctor Cawley, I apologize, but I don't think that I'd be able to handle working in an asylum. I'm more accustomed to physical wounds, than I am mental." Katherine explained.

"Ms. Wagner, please. Shutter Island is in desperate need of nurses; the orderlies and doctors can only do so much. At least, will you come and look us over? Perhaps I could persuade you to change your mind." Doctor Cawley pleaded.

Katherine wanted to object, but Doctor Cawley sounded desperate. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to at least visit Shutter Island; after all, she could leave anytime she wanted.

"All right. I'll come to Shutter Island." Katherine said.


End file.
